No Dogma, No Fruits! – Kevin DeYoung (J.C. Ryle)

I like JC Ryle, so anyone that posts a quote will probably get listed among these links: No Dogma, No Fruits! – Kevin DeYoung

Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must throw aside indecision, and take up a distinct, sharply-cut, doctrinal religion. If you believe little, those to who you try to do good will believe nothing.

Christianity without distinct doctrine is a powerless thing. It may be beautiful to some minds, but it is childless and barren. There is no getting over the facts. The good that is done in the earth may be comparatively small. Evil may abound, and ignorant impatience may murmur and cry out that Christianity has failed. But, depend on it, if we want to “do good” and shake the world, we must fight with the old apostolic weapons, and stick to “dogma.” No dogma, no fruits! No positive evangelical doctrine, no evangelization!

Think Conference Trailer :: Desiring God

I'm looking forward to downloading the audio for this conference. Even the trailer looks good: Think Conference Trailer :: Desiring God

Andrew Katay on the New Perspective

This looks good. Andrew Katay is going to talk about his take on the New Perspective: Non-defensive defence

for years now, a simple equation has been made about me: Katay = New Perspective, New Perspective = bad; therefore …

The primary rule is to make sure that the significance of what’s said is matched by the seriousness of the attempt to verify – saying someone is lousy at tip footy hardly matters; saying someone is a dangerous heretic matters a great deal, and only gets to be said after serious investigation.

And so, the next few posts will be my effort to set the record straight – but not only that.

Christian Self Promotion on Facebook and Blogs

Maybe I am a cynic, but every time I see someone on Facebook post something "spiritual" in their status, or something that makes them appear to be humble, or borderline attention seeking I think of this article:

Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear To Tread - Reformation21

I was directed by another friend to a website where an individual had put up on their social network page a public announcement that that they were 'humbled' by a reference to themselves on a well-known theologian's blog. Curiouser and curiouser, I thought: being humbled usually involves becoming more self-effacing, making oneself more invisible, bringing less attention to oneself. At least, that's what the Oxford Dictionary implies; but, hey-ho, maybe Webster's is different?

This person had no doubt asked himself how he might best demonstrate this self-effacement. "Perhaps I should send a private note of thanks to the person concerned, expressing quiet appreciation for his kind reference to me,' he no doubt reflected; but then, suddenly, a light bulb must have clicked on in his head -- `No. I know what I'll do. I'll announce my humility on my Facebook page! Surely it is hard to imagine a more humble and less attention seeking move? And, yes, while I'm logged on, I'll also mention it on the very webpage where said well-known theologian originally puffed me, just to make sure that everybody knows how humbled I truly am.'

Let's stop there a minute. This is madness. Is this where we have come to, with our Christian use of the web?

I knew [an agnostic lady] in the nineteen-eighties who, when asked where her son went to university would always reply, `Oh, to a small college in East Anglia' because she feared that the more precise explanation - the University of Cambridge - would bring too much attention to her family and be seen as a way of puffing herself and belittling others. She was truly modest and fiercely private. Such a different attitude to the `me first and only' exhibitionism found on the web - the Christian web! -- today.

Christians Think Too Much

Christians Think Too Much

How about as Christians we start reading the bible and actually do what it says. It doesn’t matter that you think it’s not necessary to attend church or give money. You are wrong, because God says you should. He doesn’t care that you think it’s okay to commit adultery or divorce your spouse because you just aren’t happy. You are wrong. We are believers and our life and actions should be based on what the bible says—what God says. It should be our aim to please Him and make Him happy

I will hear people, who apparently know the bible, say crazy things like, “Well, I know the bible says such and such, but I don’t think that really matters. That isn’t really what it means. I don’t think God will hold us to that.” Talk about arrogance.

BP Public Relations on Twitter

I don't do twitter, but you have to read these guys: BP Public Relations (BPGlobalPR) on Twitter

Oh man, this whole time we've been trying to stop SEAWATER from gushing into our OIL. Stupid Terry was holding the diagram upside down.

Thousands of people are attacked by sea creatures every year. We at BP are dedicated to bringing that number down. You're welcome!

You know what they say about the ocean... Once it goes black it never goes back! JOKING - the water is brown.

The good news: Mermaids are real. The bad news: They are now extinct.

Trellis and Vine Workshops

I'm going to one of these in Canberra this Friday: Trellis and Vine Workshops. The link to their webiste is for the US conferences. This site has the first chapter and Sydney dates.

I might post a review of the Canberra event on my main blog

Update: I haven't resisted yet, this could be a problem... Its all good I am going

Keller on sexual ethics and talking to the world

How Keller engages with the world, using an example of sexual ethics: Talking to the World

In my reading this past month, I discovered that Immanuel Kant made a case for a Christian sexual ethic but without using any appeal to the Bible or theology

I think that in our contemporary society, Christians’ beliefs about sex and gender will be one of the biggest points of conflict with our culture. We will need to co-opt some of our culture’s own baseline narratives (the importance of human dignity and community) in order to gain any hearing at all for our beliefs.

His churches blog might also be worth subscribing to.

Steve Jobs and the Lack of Porn on Apps

Al Mohler deals with the issue of Apple not allowing Porn on its apps: Pornography — The Difference Being a Parent Makes

Is Apple about freedom? “Yep,” said Jobs, “freedom from programs that steal your private data. Freedom from programs that trash your battery. Freedom from porn. Yep, freedom. The times they are a changin’.”

Tate actually accuses Jobs of imposing his own morality on the App Store (as if the contrary decision would not be just a reverse form of imposing morality).

“Apple seems to realize that it can do far more box office in its App Store if parents are confident they can let their children make purchases there without strict scrutiny,” Felten observed.

Could this be just a money decision for the kiddie dollar?

A month ago a mate of mine wrote this blog post: Will Christians thank Steve Jobs?